


How Things Progress

by lizznotliz



Series: How Things Are Built [3]
Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Asexual Character, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-23
Updated: 2016-11-23
Packaged: 2018-09-01 20:09:56
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,180
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8636557
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lizznotliz/pseuds/lizznotliz
Summary: Maggie's never been in a relationship this serious that didn't involve sex before. That doesn't make it better or worse, just different. Different is actually pretty normal for Maggie, considering some of her exes are literal aliens.





	

Maggie's never been in a relationship this serious that didn't involve sex before.

That doesn't make it better or worse, just different. Different is actually pretty normal for Maggie, considering some of her exes are literal aliens. She thought maybe she would miss it - and, yeah, sometimes she takes an extra long shower - but it's been really...

...nice, actually.

She likes Alex. Like,  _really really_  likes Alex. She likes the way Alex smiles and stumbles over her words when she's nervous. She likes that Alex works just as hard, if not harder, than she does so she doesn't have to feel guilty about pulling overtime hours. She likes how fierce Alex is, how protective, but she also likes how quiet and vulnerable Alex is around her, too. She likes their movie nights and their text conversations at 2am and their no-work-talk dinners that always devolve into work talk. 

She likes the way Alex takes care of her. None of her girlfriends have really done that before, not the way Alex does. Alex always seems to know when she's having a rough day and lets her play the music she likes in the car on their way to a crime scene, even though Alex hates her music. She makes sure to invite Maggie to her sister's game nights, every single time, even if it makes for odd numbers and the teams uneven. Last week, when Maggie stayed home from work with a stomach bug, Alex called in a favor with Supergirl (Maggie is still trying to find out what the hell Alex did to be _owed one_ by _Supergirl_ ) and got soup from Maggie's mother in Nebraska delivered directly to her apartment door. Sure, she had qualms, initially, about being Alex's first real relationship, but not anymore; they're both in good places and being the object of Alex Danvers' affection and attention is intoxicating. It didn't take long for Maggie to learn that if Alex Danvers cares about you, you want for very little.

And Maggie's never felt like she needs more.

Holding hands at dinner, or snuggling on the couch, or playing pool after comparing scores at the shooting range, that's all she needs with Alex. It feels like enough in a way Maggie could never have anticipated. Every time Alex worries that her asexuality is keeping them from 'something more,' Maggie takes stock to make sure she doesn't feel short-changed, or like her needs have taken a backseat to Alex's.

But it's never felt like that.

They're on the couch, watching something Maggie can't remember the name of. It's a super nerdy nature program, that's all she knows; it was Alex's turn to pick and she chose something that's been sitting on her DVR for months. Alex has her head in Maggie's lap and Maggie has kept her hands to herself all night because Alex had slipped on her dad's sweatshirt as soon as they walked in the door and had done that thing with her shoulders that told Maggie she wasn't wild about physical touch tonight. Still, Maggie's fingers itch and if she's going to keep telling Alex to ask for what she needs, maybe Maggie should follow her own advice and find someplace they can meet in the middle.

"How do you feel about hair?"

Alex blinks at the screen, then rolls over to look up at Maggie. "In what context?" Alex asks, clearly confused by the non sequitur. 

Maggie holds up one of her hands: "How do you feel about me playing with your hair?" Alex thinks about it for a moment, then nods slowly.

"I think I'm good with that," she says. "Can I ask why?"

"I like doing it," Maggie says simply. "I like how it feels. And I like it when people - girlfriends - play with my hair, too. I thought--" she falters for a moment, second guessing herself, but Alex sits up, nearly knocking the crown of her head into Maggie's jaw, and smiles broadly at her.

"No, no, this is good. This is, yes, this is good. That's intimate, right? Not," Alex wrinkles her nose, "not like sexually intimate but still... intimate. And it's something we both enjoy?" She says it like a question, like Maggie hadn't just said that, but Maggie knows she's looking for confirmation, looking to make sure she's reading the situation correctly. 

And, God, now all Maggie wants is for Alex to play with her hair for the rest of the night. She never would have expected that, never would have expected that this was the kind of intimacy she would be engaging in during a relationship, but with Alex it works. It fits. It doesn't just fit Alex, it fits  _them_. It feels  _right_.

She opens her mouth to ask for what she wants, but she doesn't even get a chance to because Alex is already scrambling off her lap, scattering her blanket to the floor and motioning for Maggie to stand. "Up, up, c'mon," she says. "I'll sit, you lay down."

"Danvers?" Alex tugs Maggie to her feet, then sits down in her place at the far end of the couch and puts a pillow in her lap. "You don't mind if I--"

"Of course not, come on. Let's try this." Alex grins and it's not unlike the smile she wears when they're about to do something fun and dangerous at work. That's her brave smile, her daring smile, her problem-solving smile. That smile tells Maggie that Alex wants to be just as good for her as she is for Alex.

Maggie scoops the blanket off the floor and lays down on the couch with her head in Alex's lap. Alex starts combing Maggie's hair back with her fingers and Maggie's eyes slip closed, completely ignoring Alex's nature program. When Alex scratches at her scalp, Maggie melts into the couch, her body going slack as she releases a sigh.

"Good?" Alex whispers.

"Mmhmm."

"Wanna do this more often?" Maggie slurs something that sounds affirmative and Alex smiles. She doesn't think she's ever seen Maggie so relaxed, and to know that she feels safe enough to truly relax like this with Alex is... everything. _She's_ everything. "We could make this a regular thing? Whoever picks the movie is the one who plays with hair," Alex suggests. She starts threading little braids into Maggie's hair. It takes Maggie a second to open her eyes again, to really focus on what Alex is saying before she can respond.

"Why that way?"

"'Cause you're about to fall asleep on me, Mags; if I pick the movie I definitely want to stay awake to watch it."

"That's a good idea," Maggie agrees, eyes slipping closed again. She reaches up with one hand and lays it overtop Alex's against her head. Her fingers seek out the little braids there, and her lips turn up at the edges, her dimples in full force. Her fingers slide from the braids back to Alex's hands and grip tight. "Don't stop?" she whispers. Alex scratches gently at her scalp again.

"I'm yours all night," Alex promises.


End file.
